Interested in getting involved, sign up here.

A group of about 30 met on Wednesday, July 12 at the Newburyport Public Library to reflect on and discuss the documentary film TOMORROW. The film highlights examples of communities around the globe working to address some of the most challenging issues facing us and our planet through positive, local action. It provides examples of local initiatives in agriculture, energy generation, transportation, the economy and democratic action.

Transition Newburyport facilitated the discussion. The participants were asked “Which examples from “Tomorrow” would you most like to see happen in the Greater Newburyport area.” They wrote out their ideas individually and then broke into self-organized groups to explore how the ideas might be developed here. At the end of the gathering, the groups reported out on their discussion.

Curbside Composting
Advocate for continuation and expansion of pilot composting program citywide.

Education
Host multi-generational roundtables on the environment.
Redefine growth in terms of quality rather than quantity..
Envision the future.

Energy
Community energy aggregation favoring renewables
Community energy generation group
Ward competitions for energy conservation

Food Growing
Identify and use unused space to grow food
Develop program to match unused land with people who want to garden
Explore permaculture

Transportation Alternatives (Bike, Ped, Public Transit)
City infrastructure is not well laid out for walking and biking
Explore use of jitney buses for in-town transport
Explore citywide bike hub rental stations
Implement Newburyport Greenway/Middleway

Trees
Address the Emerald Ash Borer threat

Vegetarianism
Promote meatless Mondays
Local Food Climate Cafe on August 13 at Parker River Wildlife Refuge

The next step agreed upon is to reconvene these topic-specific groups to further explore these and other related ideas. Transition Newburyport will facilitate setting up the next meetings for these interest groups. Those who were not able to come to the July 12 meeting are welcome to join in.

If you are interested in getting involved, sign up here.

Questions? Feel free to email transitionnewburyport@gmail.com.

Here’s a full list of written responses to the question, “Which example(s) from Tomorrow would you most like to see happen in the Greater Newburyport area,”